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Tuesday, 20 March 2018

My
first thought was: - A hospital hotel? Why would that be interesting?

However I was wrong, this hotel provides modern interior design with a
fantastic skyfloor view were a quite small gym and "spa" overlooking
the Stockholm skyline. They also have a skybar (not opened yet), however unable
to review.

The restaurant is a Italian terrazzo with simple dishes such as pizza,
selection of cold cuts and from the grill.

Room:

The rooms are designed with a modern interior and very contemporary. We
enjoyed the soft beds and the baths that had a great size. All standards were imbedded
in the room such as slippers, bathrobes etc.

Cleaning:

As usual cleaning is an issue. Even though this is a new hotel you still
can se dust in the corners and sometimes under the curtains. Something cleaning
management should overlook.

Food and Beverage (Haga Bottega):

The restaurant is at good standard and we like the hospitality. The
staff is very friendly and can provide extra changes in the menu if children
gets a bit picky. The wine selection is good and we enjoyed their Barbera
d'Alba.

Breakfast is ok, however we feel that this hotel should provide more
fresh ingredients such as more fruit variety and there was no waffles or pancakes.
Also an egg station is in order, all modern and new hotels in Stockholm have
today an egg station were you can order your personal omelet.

Other amnesties:

The gym is way too small and could be made to something ells or changed
to a spa facility. The view is amazing and you can see all over the city. This
should be their selling point however the skybar is limited to conference bookings
only and the "spa" is only a sauna with a view. Much better
commercial use could be implemented here.

All in all we enjoyed this hotel and we loved the staff in the
restaurant. The hotel staff is also very professional and we liked the design
of the rooms. What could be improved is a better use of the skybar and
skyfloor. Also a much more focus on the breakfast could be implemented such as
a bubbly alternative for breakfast during Saturdays or Sundays. It cost almost
nothing for the restaurant but it is a very good touch for the loyal guests
that stays during the weekend.

Thursday, 1 March 2018

This amazing traditional pastry that we try each year
with a new bakery is just getting better and better. The rich and perfect
cream, puffy and perfection in texture of bread and finally the almond icing
that is made to superb balance is not only goooooood to eat all together but a
historic pastry that have lived through the Swedish culture and history for hundreds
of years.

We at Western Taste loves the Semla and this year we have chosen to try it
from the famous and historical cafe house of Vetekatten in Stockholm.

Vetekatten dates back all the way to 1928 and was founded by a woman calls
Ester Nordhammar. Back in those days women had just received the right to vote
in Sweden and very few business owners was run by women. Ester was 42 years of
age and had a long background as a baker. She had a vision to start a bakery
that was simple enough for everyone to enjoy and was decorated as a traditional
minister home. She also had a goal to only hire young women, in fact no men
worked at Vetekatten until 1961, the year Ester passed away. She wrote in her
will that the bakery should continue to its 4 partners.

When you enter this fantastic bakery you can feel the historical ambiance.
There are two sections in this coffee house/ bakery; one that is kept as the original
bakery intended to be, the other one is modern although still honoring the
tradition.